Dinner with the Lioness
by karynperovskite
Summary: It's Draco's 26th birthday and Hermione planned something simple yet special for him. One-shot.


It was a tiring day for one Draco Malfoy, who, upon arriving at the manor, immediately dropped on his king-sized bed with an exasperated sigh. He closed his eyes, feeling his whole body ache from playing Quidditch all day. He kicked off his boots with much difficulty (and maybe a few curses) as he was too lazy to sit up and change into something more comfortable. As he was violently kicking his right boot off with his left, he suddenly felt small hands gently holding both his feet down. Alarmed, he sat up and instinctively took his wand from his pocket and defensively pointed it forward.  
>He found himself looking into the familiar brown fawn eyes of Hermione Granger.<br>"It's just me, you twitchy ferret." She said, and began removing his muddy boots. Draco hesitantly lowered his wand.  
>"Merlin, woman. What are you doing in here?" he asked, his brows creasing together.<br>She smiled at Draco. "I just.. decided to pay you a surprise visit today." she paused, finally removing the second boot, "You didn't even hear me come in your room. Who would with all the grunting noises you were making?" She joked. Draco playfully ruffled her hair and smirked. For a moment, both pairs of eyes simply locked onto each other, holding that gaze as if it were a brittle vase of bliss. It would have lasted longer, Draco thought, if Granger hadn't disrupted the dramatic silence. She stood up.  
>"Come on. You need a bath. You are absolutely filthy." She stated, wrinkling her nose as she held out a hand. Draco took it, revelling at how soft and gentle her hands were, and stood up. He then quickly regretted it, as he felt his tired knees give in.<br>"Later, I'm absolutely worn out right now. I can't move." Draco groaned, struggling to stand up straight.  
>"It can't be later, Draco Malfoy. Trust me, you'll feel better once you take a bath." The brunette strictly said. With another groan, Draco let Hermione bring him to his bathroom.<br>"Merlin.. I really cannot get over how huge your bathroom is.." Hermione whispered.  
>"Can I just get the bath I came for? I seriously might pass out." Draco complained.<br>"Right." Hermione said, looking as if she just snapped back into reality. "I'll be outside if you need anything, alright?" She then left the bathroom and closed the door quietly behind her.  
>With much effort, Draco opened all the faucets of his immense bathtub, which could easily be mistaken for a pool, and adjusted the temperature of the water to that of a hot spring's. He poured some fragrant bath salts into the water and mindlessly stirred the surface before throwing in a couple of bath pearls into the water. He then quickly, but painfully, undressed and slowly submerged himself into his fragrant bath.<br>The warm water that slowly enveloped his body felt so utterly comforting and did help soothe his aching muscles. He inhaled the lavender scent of his bath, reclined against the edge, and drifted off into a dreamy state.

The light penetrated through the slits of Draco's eyes as he carefully opened them. He took in his surroundings and remembered where he was. His water was now rather dirty and the tips of his fingers were already prune-like from being soaked in water for too long. Feeling content, the blond rose from the water & patted himself dry with a towel. He felt refreshed, and his body did feel much better, just as Hermione promised. After wrapping himself in a towel, he opened the bathroom door and saw the brunette sleeping on his bed.  
>How long was I bathing?<br>He walked to his closet, still deciding what to wear. He then pulled out a gray shirt and comfortable sweatpants. After looking at his reflection in the mirror, he sat on the edge of his bed and gently woke the sleeping girl.  
>"Hermione.. sorry I took long.." Draco said, softly rubbing her shoulders.<br>"Hermione.." Draco repeated, until Hermione's eyelids began to flutter.  
>"Mhmm?" Hermione yawned, rubbing her eyes. She slowly sat up and sleepily looked at Draco.<br>She smiled.  
>"I made dinner, I hope you don't mind."<br>Draco thought for a moment.  
>"You cooked.. and still had the time to nap?"<br>"Yes. You were in the bathroom since 4. And it's 8." She laughed. "Let's eat, I'm hungry."

Hermione escorted Draco to the garden. "I thought we were eating?" Draco inquired.  
>"We are."<br>As Hermione said that, a beautiful setting came into view. In the middle of the garden was a round table, big enough to accommodate four people, so it was spacious for the two of them. The shiny emerald table cloth faintly glinted under the moonlight that had the same shade as the table runner.  
>"How very Slytherin of you." Draco commented and smirked.<br>"It's not everyday an arrogant ferret turns 26." Hermione responded. "Happy birthday, Draco."  
>The Slytherin laughed. "Don't say that, you make me feel old." He looked at her. "Thank you, though. It's.. wonderful." He said awkwardly. Hermione just smiled.<br>Draco and Hermione then sat on the table opposite each other. It was truly a beautiful night, Draco noticed, looking around. "I politely asked the house elves to serve us tonight. I hope you don't mind." Hermione said with a chuckle, lighting the candle at the centre of the table.  
>"Not at all." Draco laughed, observing the little flame that was their only source of warmth tonight.<br>A house elf then popped in beside the table and served their first meal. Another one popped in on the other side and gave the couple a glass of water each. "Thank you, Dipsy & Minnie." Hermione said, before the two house elves disappeared.  
>It was nothing extravagant really, the meal. Hermione made a Mediterranean style salad for appetizer, pesto for the main dish, and bought some of Fortescue's ice cream for dessert. Nevertheless, it was Draco's favourite meal.<br>"I hope that the food was alright.. I'm not really a top chef, but that's passable, I think." Hermione laughed,  
>"It's.. okay." Draco commented but regretted it after seeing her disappointed face. He actually wanted to say that it was perfect, even if it wasn't. He was just so grateful that Hermione went through all this for his birthday that everything was so splendid to him.<br>After the meal, with their table free from anything but the candle, Draco then spoke, "Well, well, Granger. I've to admit that I enjoyed your gift."  
>Hermione laughed. "First of all, what did I say about you calling me Granger? We've been through that already! And second, that wasn't my birthday gift to you."<br>Draco's eyebrows rose.  
>"Oh? What is it then? I think that I already asked so much of you today, since you came home early from work. We all know how much you love going to work. And sorry, force of habit, Mrs. Malfoy." Draco teased.<br>"You'll see later tonight." Hermione grinned, and Draco could've sworn that there was an innuendo to that.


End file.
